Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated the BJP's commitment to rid India of illegal foreigners, speaking at a program in Guwahati on the birth centenary of Assam's first non-Congress Chief Minister, Golap Borbora. Shah emphasized that the high-power demography mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day is a crucial step towards studying the country's demographic patterns and identifying infiltrators.
Shah acknowledged that the promise to free Assam and the entire country from illegal foreigners has not been fulfilled in the last 10 years, but he assured that the BJP will keep its word. He firmly stated his belief that not a single infiltrator should be allowed to stay in the country.
Recalling the efforts of former CM Golap Borbora, who led a Janata Party government in Assam from March 1978 to September 1979, Shah highlighted Borbora's drive to cleanse the voters' list during the Mangaldai Lok Sabha by-election. Even without computerized electoral rolls, Borbora's government detected names of 36,780 illegal foreigners, which Shah considers the origin of the Assam Agitation.
Shah criticized the opposition to the Election Commission's current efforts to clean the voters' list through the SIR (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation) process, calling it a sign of "moral degradation in today's politics". He asserted that Borbora would have opposed these parties.
The Home Minister also praised the Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, for its measures against "infiltrators," including the eviction of encroachments. He lauded Sarma for honoring Borbora, recognizing him as a socialist leader with no prior connection to the BJP, emphasizing the Modi government's commitment to recognizing contributions from across the political spectrum. Shah highlighted the "biggest achievement" of Sarma's government as freeing "lakhs of acres of land from illegal encroachers".
In an apparent reference to state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, Shah stated that Assam cannot be led by individuals who frequently visit Pakistan. He urged BJP and AGP representatives to work diligently to ensure the current government wins the upcoming election and many more, aiming for a third term for the BJP-NDA alliance in Assam.
However, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has launched a strong critique against the BJP-led government, accusing them of betraying Assam with unfulfilled promises over the last decade. AJP President Lurinjyoti Gogoi demanded that Amit Shah provide a white paper on the deportation of illegal foreigners, including concrete data on the number of individuals actually expelled. Gogoi also questioned Shah's reluctance to accept the Clause 6 Committee Report regarding constitutional safeguards for the Assamese people under the Assam Accord. The AJP has warned of intensifying protests until key national issues for Assam, such as illegal immigration, NRC finalization, flood control, and indigenous rights, are addressed.